Ms. Nichols Reads

The Knife Of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness Ness, Patrick. The Knife of Never Letting Go . Candlewick Press, 2018. In the novel The Knife Of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, the setting is of a futuristic town called Prentisstown. In this town, Todd is the last boy remaining, while everyone else are men. At 13 boys become men in this town. The noise germ has been released on all the humans which gives them all the ability to communicate with animals and humans through their minds. Todd and his dog Manchee are out exploring, and accidentally stumble across something that is silent. This in turn is how Todd and Viola meet. They find out secrets about Prentisstown that they were never supposed to learn. Both Todd and Viola are being hunted by Aaron, which is how this novel ends. Viola kills Aaron and Todd surrenders to the mayor. It ends on a cliffhanger which makes me think there must be a sequel.     For fans of The Knife Of Never Letting Go , I...

Monster by Walter Dean Myers Myers, Walter Dean, and Christopher Myers. Monster . HarperTeen/Amistad, 2008. In the novel Monster by Walter Dean Myer, sixteen year old Steve finds himself on trial for murder. He is thought to have been involved in the shooting of a drug store owner. As the trial gets heated, Steve’s innocence is questioned and ultimately found not guilty. Racism and the quest for truth are themes explored in this novel. Also, the justice system is questioned time and time again as to wonder how fair is the justice system really? Meanwhile Steve questions his own self, as he writes in his journal, “Am I really a monster?”   For fans of Monster , I recommend reading Shooter , also written by Walter Dean Myers. In this novel, there is a school shooter, and multiple points of view are examined on the effect of the actions of the shooter.

It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie H. Harris Harris, Robie H., and Michael Emberley. It's Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing up, Sex, and Sexual Health . Candlewick Press, 2014. In the book It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris, everything discussed is centered around what a young preteen might need to know about changing bodies, growing up, sex ,and sexual health. This book is like the holy grail for 13 year olds. This book was very different from all the other books I have read and reviewed so far. For starters, this is a nonfiction book and all the others were fiction. Although this book was different, it doesn’t make it any less important. Students can read this book and have all the questions they are too embarrassed to ask, answered. I can imagine, when I am a parent, handing this book to my child around the age of 13 and hoping we could discuss anything he (or she) doesn’t understand. I think the illustrations are helpful in pointing out what is being...

Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart Gephart, Donna. Lily and Dunkin . Yearling, an Imprint of Random House Children's Books, a Division of Penguin Random House LLC, 2018. In the novel Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart, Tim and Norbert become friends through  their new identities. Tim wishes to be called Lily and Norbert hates his name, so Tim has given him the nickname Dunkin due to always eating Dunkin donuts and drinking their iced coffee. Both Lily and Dunkin are outcasts but form a friendship with each other. Dunkin joins the basketball team, due to his height, but the stress of the team causes Dunkin’s bipolar disorder to go wrong. Duncan finds himself in a mental hospital and the laughing stock of the school. Meanwhile, Lily chooses to express himself by dressing as a girl to the school dance. Dunkin shows up to the dance and both Lily and Duncan enjoy each other’s company, despite the fear that the whole school is looking at them.    For those ...

Annie On My Mind by Nancy Garden Garden, Nancy. Annie on My Mind . Farrar, 1992. In the novel Annie On My Mind by Nancy Garden, Annie and Liza form a friendship from the moment they accidentally meet at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Annie and Liza are from different backgrounds, but they have one thing in common; their feelings for each other. Annie and Liza’s relationship starts off as friendship, but it quickly blossoms into something more. Both girls develop feelings that they don’t understand for each other. Together both Annie and Liza are able to make sense of what they feel for one another. This is a heart-wrenching story, but I always found myself rooting for the girls to end up together.   For fans of Annie On My Mind , I recommend reading Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. This story is about two teenage boys who are enemies, but end up with a deeper relationship than just friendship. Enemies turn into lovers in this novel loosely based on the relation...

Lucky Broken Girl by Ruth Behar Behar, Ruth. Lucky Broken Girl . Puffin Books, 2018. In the novel Lucky Broken Girl by Ruth Behar,  Ruthie is living a wonderful life in America with her parents and younger brother. Although she is still new to the country, and trying to acclimate, Ruthie is able to keep up in her classes and make friends with the boy in the apartment across the hall. Ruthie’s world is suddenly turned upside down when her family is in a terrible car accident. Luckily everyone in her family survives with only a few minor cuts and scratches, however Ruthie ends up with a horribly broken leg. Ruthie must learn to live with a cast for six months. How will Ruthie survive stuck in her bed for six month?. That means no more school, no more hopscotch with her friends, and stuck inside with her mother all day. Through hard work, love, and the care of family and friends, Ruthie is able to completely heal and return to school to join the “regular” class. A...

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak . Square Fish, 1999. In the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda starts her freshman year of high school as an outcast. Melinda called the cops on a summer party, and now no one at school will speak to her. What her classmates don’t realize is that Melinda was raped at that fateful party. She is alone in her battle for healing and justice.  As the novel progresses, Melinda starts to process what had happened to her and begins to heal. However, after encountering her attacker again, Melinda is able to stand up for herself and fight back. This is a story of resilience and power and shows how actions can harm and affect others in a multitude of ways For fans of this novel, I recommend reading Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson. Written by the same author as Speak , Prom centers around a group of high school friends and their quest to find dates to the prom.

The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie Alexie, Sherman, and Ellen Forney. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian . Little, Brown and Co., 2009. In the novel The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, the novel centers around the life of Junior, a teenage American Indian growing up on a reservation. Junior’s life is hard; being raised in poverty, dealing with racism, and he himself having medical issues. Basketball seems to be the only thing that Junior truly loves. When Junior decides to attend a school off the reservation, everyone he has ever known seems to turn their backs on him. The neighbors are hostile towards him, his best friend won’t even talk to him, and even his parents don’t understand his wanting to attend the “white” school.  With the help of new friends, Junior makes the basketball team at his new school and begins to feel like he fits in. At the championship basketball game, Junior play...

Ch. 20 The last chapter of the LSSL 5385 textbook is a list of 23 young adult and middle grade books that honor hispanic heritage month. This chapter comes from the link on the School Library Journal Website. Because it is currently hispanic heritage month, I feel like this article is extremely relevant. Many of these books I have never heard of before, however I am familiar with Lucky Broken Girl by Ruth Behar. I just recently read this book, and absolutely loved it! I am also familiar with I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sanchez. I have not read it yet, but I own it and it is on my ever-growing stack of to-be-read books. The Mile Morales Spiderman book is on my classroom library shelf and I have seen several boys read it already.  Based on the books listed in this article, I am interested in reading North of Happy by Aldi Alsaid, The Go-Between by Veronica Chambers, and They Both Die in the End by Adam Silvera. Also, side note, I am bookmarking this websit...

Ch. 19 Chapter nineteen of the LSSL 5385 textbook comes is in the form of an article taken from the website perspectivesonreading.com.  This article discusses how to find a “good” book and how to help others. The term used in this article is a ‘readers advisor.’ It is defined as being “ a library term for somebody who can help a reader find a book that person would like to read.” There are face-to face techniques and face-to-group techniques to this position. In face-to-face interactions , the reading advisor will ask the reader to tell them about something they like to read, or don’t like to read. In face-to-group interactions, the reading advisor will usually have some kind of presentation of a book and present that to a group of people. There are also indirect reading techniques such as displays, lists, and websites. Generally this is where readers can gather information on their own about a book, without the reading advisor directly giving them the information....

Ch. 18 This chapter is an article titled,” A Call to Action: What We Know About Adolescent Literacy Instruction.” In this article, the author discusses,” the complexities of reading as an ongoing, developmental process and addresses the needs of secondary readers and their teachers.” The article continues on by defining the act of reading as, “as a complex, purposeful, social, and cognitive process in which readers simultaneously use their knowledge of spoken and written language, their knowledge of the topic of the text, and their knowledge of their culture to construct meaning.” There are four actions listed that must be considered in adolescent reading. These actions are; Incorporation of Disciplinary Literacy Instruction, Integration of Multiple and Social Literacies, Orchestration of Engagement and Motivation, and Appreciation of Multicultural Perspectives and Cultures. So basically what I am getting from this article is that reading is a difficult thing, and sho...

Ch. 17 This chapter of the LSSL 5385 textbook was a link that lead me to the website, diversebooks.org. Going along with what chapter 16 was talking about, this website is all about diversifying books and giving children access to these books. I absolutely love the quote at the top of the home page! It states; “Imagine a world in which all children can see themselves in the pages of a book.” This is exactly what I have been trying to get at in the past couple of reviews. Students should be able to relate to what they are reading. It is exceptionally hard for a child of a minority group to relate to a story if the characters do not act like or like that them.  As I continued scrolling down the page of this website, I realized that this is actually a nonprofit organization. According to the website their mission is to,”advocate essential changes in the publishing industry to produce and promote literature that reflects and honors the lives of all young people.” So no...

Ch. 16 Chapter 16 is a question and answer session with Ebony Elizabeth Thomas about why children need more diverse books. The article starts off by stating,” What children read shapes what they think of themselves, of others, and of the world.” I agree completely with this statement. I have noticed in my own school’s library, there is a very small amount of diverse books. Students should be able to relate to the characters in the books they are reading, however if a student comes from a diverse background, he or she might struggle to relate to a character in the books in the library at my school. When Thomas was asked,” What can teachers do to help children of color to get away from the fatigue around the history of pain?”, I liked her response. She responded by stating that kids need a balance in books. This is such a great response, mostly because it is honest and true. Students need access to diverse books, but they also need access to more traditional, classic literatu...

Ch. 15 In chapter fifteen of the LSSL 5385 textbook, titled “Peck’s Questions.” This is a list of 10 questions to ask about a novel written by Richard Peck in 1978. My top three favorite questions asked are question number one, four, and seven. Question one asks what would happen if the main character was the opposite sex? Question number four asks if you could eliminate a character from the story which one would you choose and why? Finally, question seven asks what one thing in the story has happened to you? Question seven is such a great question to ask students to find out if they can relate to what they are reading. Really, all ten of the questions are great questions to ask students while conferencing with them about their independent reading. I am going to have to use these this week!

Ch. 14 In chapter fourteen of the LSSL 5385 textbook, it is all about Graphic Novels. The chapter tates that graphic novels are not a genre, but rather a form or format of writing. There can be graphic novels written in the sub-genres of history, fantasy, nonfiction, etc.  Graphic Novels are a huge hit in my classroom. Seriously, I can’t keep them on my shelves. I think students enjoy looking at the pictures and having little blurbs to read, instead of just a full page of text. Graphic Novels are great for my ELL students, as well. A full page of English text can be daunting to students, especially if you are still new to the English Language. Graphic Novels make it easier, for students that struggle with reading, to read. Recently I discovered classic literature in Graphic Novel form. More specifically I have purchased Anne of Green Gable, Anne Frank, and A Wrinkle In Time in graphic novel form for my classroom library. I think that is so cool and exciting that th...

Ch. 13 Chapter thirteen of the LSSL 5385 textbook is entitled,” Fantasy/ Science Fiction.” This chapter begins by defining the sub-genre as,”stories that violate the laws of physical reality .” The chapter then continues on to clearly define what fantasy and science fiction are by stating, all of science fiction falls into the fantasy genre;  however, not all fantasy is science fiction.” Clearly Dr. Perry is a fan of science fiction. She has published a book entitled, Sci Fi On The Fly . Such a clever title!  I always struggle with the genre because it holds no interest to me. This is a personal flaw that I fear I will always struggle with. So many of my students, especially boys, enjoy reading this genre and continuously ask me for recommendations. Sadly, I can only recommend what others students and teachers have told me about, or what I have read on this sub-genre, because I read little to no science fiction. I just can not get into it. In the end it has wo...

Ch. 12 In chapter twelve, the genre of nonfiction books is discussed. According to the chapter, it is not easy to define the genre of nonfiction because it is “an umbrella term of sorts”. Although it is difficult to define, there is a list of 5 criteria that must be met in order to define a book as nonfiction. This list includes; the qualifications of the author, accurate facts, the purpose of the book, the organization of the book assist readers in locating information, and the role of visuals throughout the book.  As a freshman English teacher, I focus my teaching on nonfiction reading and writing, because students really seem to struggle with reading these works. I haven’t figured out what it is that makes reading nonfiction so difficult for my students, but it is clearly a weakness for many. Perhaps my students struggle with this genre because they might not be interested in the subjects in the stories, or what the passages are talking about.